In Between
by SpyKid18
Summary: Set at the Male Yale Party. A lot happened between Dean leaving and Rory stumbling out of that limo. ROGAN


**A/N: Hello! So this is set at the Male Yale party that Emily and Richard have for Rory. Basically, it is what happens after Dean leaves. We never really get to see the "bucking up" that Logan talks about. So, I have remedied that :-D I hope you enjoy it! And for all of you that read Party Crashers, you will approve of this ending much more :-)**

In Between

She watched the truck disappear down the well-manicured road with Dean's last words ringing in her ears. His absence made her shiver and her shoulders trembled as she thought of how he wasn't only driving away from the Gilmore residence but her and what they had. He was the one leaving and it hurt more than she could have anticipated. She didn't realize that Logan was beside her until he spoke. His words were like cool water on her as he told her everything would be okay. The cool water was not enough to ease the searing pain that Dean's leaving had caused her and she shook her head obstinately as she told him that, no, it would not be okay. Dean was gone and everything that she had and worked for and sacrificed for was now a waste. She felt used and abandoned.

She hardly knew what was happening as Logan led her inside with a proclamation that there was some serious bucking up to do. They shuffled through the party again, running into Emily half-way to the pool house. She grabbed Rory's arm and asked, "What was that hideous truck doing outside?"

"Someone was lost," Logan filled in smoothly.

"Why in the world would they stop here?" Emily said in disgust. Logan shrugged and said, "No idea. If you see my mother, tell her where you got your draperies. She has been mentioning them all night."

That effectively rid any thoughts of the truck from Emily's mind and she nodded with a satisfied grin. Logan took hold of Rory's elbow and took her in the direction of the pool house. When they walked in the alcohol was already flowing and Finn was half-way through his version of The Passion. Logan dipped his mouth to her ear and murmured, "We're catching the best part."

"I can't believe he left," Rory mumbled, not even bothering to watch Finn's performance. Logan sighed and grabbed a bottle of champagne on a nearby table. The cork was already out and he passed it to Rory and said, "Drink."

She dutifully took a swig and gave it back to him.

"Now, we are not going to talk about Dean," Logan told her. "Have another drink."

She took a sip and tears slipped down her cheek. Logan took the bottle from her and carefully wiped her cheeks. He set the bottle down and told her, "There are some ground rules for this bucking up. Are you ready for them?" She nodded her head. "Okay, first off, no talking about that guy unless it is in a mocking fashion. Second, no crying mostly because I don't like it. Third, no refusing any drinks."

She sniffled and then said, "Okay."

"Seriously, Ace, you have a whole house full of guys vying for your attention. I mean, you have the Campbell guy. You know, Campbell, like the soup."

Rory grinned slightly and said, "Yes, my grandma told me."

"So, you have a soup heir wanting you," Logan said, slinging an arm around her shoulders. "Perk up, Ace."

GG-GG-GG-GG-GG

"He had a truck," Rory slurred, leaning forward as she enunciated the word truck again in a tone that would make Emily Gilmore proud. "And it wasn't even clean on the inside."

"A travesty," Colin announced.

"One time, I put my hand in one of the compartments and there was Gatorade there!"

"What flavor?" Finn asked.

Rory stopped for a moment and said, "I think Purple Rain. It was his favorite flavor."

Logan sensed a shift in Rory's mood and quickly asked, "Did he say anything?"

He hadn't been sure if he went the correct way with that but the indignant look that graced Rory's features told him he had chosen correctly. She shook her head and said, "Nope, he didn't even say sorry! He just blew over it all like it wasn't odd for there to be Gatorade there."

"Which it was," Colin pointed out. "Even for the likes of us that would be weird."

"Exactly," she said, nodding her head in an exaggerated fashion. "That is _exactly_ right."

Finn had gotten up and began to walk around the room. He stopped at a piece of apparatus up against the wall and asked no one in particular, "What in all of heavens is this?"

Logan straightened up beside Rory and took a gander at what Finn was referring to. "That, my friend, is a record player."

"No," Finn said, shaking his head. "You're wrong, mate."

"Let me see," Rory said, rising shakily from the couch. Logan followed her up and steadied her with an equally unsteady hand. She looked back briefly and gave him a solemn thank-you before stumbling over to the record player. "Yes, Finn, that is a record player." She dropped to her knees and opened up the cabinet beneath the machine. Out, she pulled a record and reached up to hand it to Finn who had already reached down. He looked at it oddly as she righted herself up and said, "Cole Porter, the lad sounds familiar."

"That's because it's _Cole Porter_," Rory said. She snatched the record back and pulled it from its sleeve. She had never been able to work the record machine before but in her drunken state everything went without a hitch and before she could snap her finger in time the music began playing. She looked at Finn-who was staring at her as if she had just solved an equation of nuclear physics-and gave him a satisfied grin. "You, miss, are a genius."

She gave a small bow. "Why thank you, Finn."

"Come on, Ace," Logan said, taking a hold of her wait and turning her toward him. "Let's dance."

"Why not," Rory quipped, wrapping her arms around his neck. "No stepping on my feet."

"I'll do my best."

"Too much brandy," Finn complained, collapsing onto the couch and covering his eyes with his hand. "Too, too, too much brandy."

"I smell bacon," Colin announced, his nose turned up into the air. "There is a bacon-wrapped something at the party. Finn, time to investigate!"

Nothing pulled Finn out of a drunken stupor like the prospect of bacon and he sat up ramrod straight and said, "Yes, let's."

Both Colin and Finn escaped from the pool house, leaving Rory and Logan dancing alone in the center of the room. Logan grinned down at her and said, "Then there were two."

"Meaning us."

He chuckled, "Yes, Ace, meaning us."

"I want to thank you," Rory said after a moment, her hands travelling down to his shoulders and casually rubbing the fine material of his suit. He looked at her expectantly and said, "What for?"

"For earlier," she told him. "And for this. You didn't have to be so nice after Dean left. You could have just left me and-"

"Ace, you know I wouldn't have done that," he said. The way his voice sounded made her shiver and she avoided his eyes as she said, "Well, you didn't have to do all of this and you still did. So, thank you."

"You're welcome."

She smiled softly up at him and her eyes settled on his lips. She had never spent a significant amount of time contemplating his lips but now that they were there before her she saw they were a nice shape. They parted slightly as she realized her face was moving closer and closer to his and she felt their softness as she pressed her lips to his. Their lips had barely touched for a second before he pulled away and shame spread across her face.

"I'm sorry," she said quickly, stepping away from him. "I..I didn't mean to throw myself at you."

"Ace-"

"I shouldn't have done that."

"You're drunk," Logan told her gently, touching her arm. She looked at him with pursed lips and said, "So are you." He chuckled. "Not nearly as much as you, Ace."

"Well, fine, then I'm sorry for attacking you."

She pulled away from him turned away as he said, "You didn't attack me, Ace. I just don't want you doing anything that you will regret."

"Regret," Rory sighed, turning back toward him. "Do you know what I regret? Losing my virginity to _him_ when he was still someone else's husband. Wasting all this time with him when it would turn into absolutely nothing."

"Ace-"

"And having to ignore and push away everything that I have been feeling because I am involved with someone whose divorce papers are barely dry!"

"Wait, what?" Rory felt all too sober as she realized the cat was now out of its figurative bag and her eyes widened as she tried to talk herself out of it.

"I meant that…well…I don't…I.." Logan stepped toward her, "Ace, stop talking."

He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her to him. His lips covered hers and they parted easily beneath his. His arm felt comforting around her waist and his lips were doing things that she hardly knew how to explain. She moved her hands up into his hair and threaded her fingers through it as she drove his mouth harder down on her own. They were so engrossed in each other that they didn't even hear the door open or a particularly lewd comment from one particularly hammered Australian.

"Well, this is more surprising than the lack of bacon," Colin said.

Rory and Logan pulled apart but his arm stayed around her waist. "Hello boys."

"I see Rory has made her choice," Colin drawled.

"Does this mean that I've lost?" Finn asked. Rory nodded her head and he said, "Drats. I never win, mates. Never."

"Did you find your bacon?" Logan asked, drawing circles into Rory's side casually with his finger. Colin shook his head and regrettably told them, "There was no bacon. In fact, the party is breaking up. Think we can make a break for it?"

Logan looked down at Rory and said, "Your grandparents should not see you like this."

"Do we have an escape plan?" she asked him.

"We have a limo," he announced. "To the limo!"

They fell out of the pool house and unnecessarily ran all the way to the waiting limo. They piled in and Rory leaned against Logan, draping her legs up over his lap. "I'm tired," she said.

He kissed her temple and draped an arm over her waist. Finn offered them champagne filched from one of the drink tables but Logan shook his head. He didn't want to do anything to chance him forgetting what had happened. He never wanted to forget the feel of her in his arms or the soft heat of her breath against his neck. The ride to Stars Hollow was much too short because before he knew it they were in front of her house and she was stumbling out of the limo.

"Bye!" she called, giving a quick wave before heading into the house. She walked in and Lorelai was waiting at the doorway.

"Well, look at you," Lorelai said, grabbing onto her arm. "You one-upped your mother in dealing with Emily and Richard. I usually just escaped but you chose the more fun route."

"Bed," Rory mumbled, feeling her eyelids droop.

"Are you okay, babe?"

Rory nodded. "Yeah, just tired."

"What happened to Dean?" Lorelai asked as she led her daughter to her bedroom. "I thought he was going to save you."

"He came and then he left," Rory said simply. Lorelai didn't press, the knowledge of her daughter coming out of that limo enough. It seemed that the Rory and Dean story had come to an end. She helped Rory out of her clothes and into a pair of pajamas.

"I feel like a kid," Rory said, giggling a bit as Lorelai put her to bed and pulled the covers up over her. Lorelai smiled somewhat wearily down at her daughter and said, "Yeah, hoards of shots will do that. Try not to go so crazy the next time, okay? Mommy's ageing ten years from this."

"I promise," Rory said, turning onto her side. "Night, Mom."

Lorelai leaned down and kissed her daughter's head. "Good night, Rory."

Rory closed her eyes and heard Lorelai close the door. Alone with her thoughts she was left alone with her memories, as well. She thought of Logan and the feel of her lips on hers. She wondered how things would look in the morning when the soft haze of alcohol had faded. She wondered how she would view things. How would he? As sleep caught her in its soft grasp she thought to herself that regardless of what the morning held, it had turned out to be a pretty good night.

**A/N: Thoughts? If you liked this make sure to check out my other Gilmore Girl stories and one-shots. I'd rather not comment on their overall quality (that would not be modest) but I can say that they are fairly amusing. So, leave a review and then head over and give them a quick look!**


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